A Non-invasive Cell Phone Imaging Probe for Diagnosing Malaria

Alberto Bilenca of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in Israel will develop a cell phone imaging system that can non-invasively detect malaria parasites in the blood. The system uses a polarized red laser pointer to illuminate tissue such as a finger tip, and a zoom lens and polarizing filter on existing cell phone cameras, to create images that depict hemozoin crystals in blood following malaria parasite infection, as well as micro-obstructions in the circulatory system that result from the infection.